Tag: justin cudahy

By Justin Cudahy, Columns Editor [Kyoto Animation; 2016] Rating: 9.5/10 Note: This is a review for the dub release of A Silent Voice Despite being originally released in 2016, A Silent Voice had only reached a limited audience during its initial run, playing in only a handful of theatres in the United States. Now, over…

2018, a compelling year for rising artists from a web of musical trajectories. 1. Noname – Room 25, [Self-released; 2018] By Kwase Lane, Staff Writer Everything that someone could love about Noname’s music is taken to the next level in Room 25. One of the great things about Noname is that she doesn’t wear out…

Jon Fuchs, Music Director: Dean Blunt – “Chancer (feat. A$AP Rocky)” It’s crazy that the best hype track of 2018 is a minimal masterpiece with no actual beat at all. Acting as the opening track on his latest EP, Soul On Fire, Dean Blunt’s “Chancer” is based solely on a constantly looping strings sample, Blunt’s…

By Justin Cudahy, Columns Editor [Smalltown Supersound; 2018] Rating: 6/10 Key Tracks: “Fallen Leaves”, “Faster Than the Truth”, “Natural Skin Deep” For many, when they hear the words “Buffalo Stance” uttered, they are immediately transported to a time back when MTV was at its height and dance-pop was still on the rise. These terms were…

Summer definitely puts us in all kinds of moods… Here’s what the summer of 2018 sounded like for ACRN! Devon Hannan, Editorial Director: Dance Gavin Dance — “Care” This post-hardcore track has all of the ingredients necessary for a certified summertime banger. From Dance Gavin Dance’s latest chaotic album Artificial Selection, “Care” is about a…

By Justin Cudahy, Columns Editor [Gate13; 2018] Rating: 4.5/10 Key Tracks: “Wheel of Fortune”, “The Glow”, “Sit Ya Ass Down” Ever since the release of his first solo project in 1991, Del the Funky Homosapien has managed to stay within radars in hip-hop culture, mainly through his collaborations—spanning from the Oakland-based collective Hieroglyphics to the Wu-Tang Clan,…

By Justin Cudahy, Columns Editor [Sub Pop Records; 2008] Original Release Date: 4/21/08 Memorable Tracks: “Inner City Pressure”, “Hiphopopotamous vs. Rhymenoceros”, “Business Time” I’ll be honest, I was a little late to the Flight of the Conchords bandwagon when the group was at its most popular between 2007 and 2009. But then again, I was…

By Justin Cudahy, Columns Editor [Bulk; 2018] Rating: 7.5/10 Key Tracks: “Octagon Octagon”, “Power of the World (S Curls)”, “3030 Meets the Doc – Pt. 1” Our favorite time-traveling extraterrestrial gynecologist is back. It’s been a dozen years since Kool Keith has made music under the Dr. Octagon persona, coming off a rather disappointing sequel…

By Justin Cudahy, Columns Editor [Jagjaguwar; 2018] Rating: 6.5/10 Key Tracks: “Espionage”, “Manipulation”, “Doubt” Calgary-based post-punk group Preoccupations have certainly found themselves on a creative streak these last three years – having now released their third full-length album in said time. Ever since the band rebranded themselves back in 2016, (having originally gone by Viet Cong…

Will 2018 be as bright as 2017 for music? Here are our most anticipated albums of 2018! Jon Fuchs, Music Director: Current Joys – A Different Age Nick Rattigan has never made a bad record before. Whether it’s with guitarist Jacob Rubeck as Surf Curse or by himself as Current Joys, every record he’s been a…

By Justin Cudahy, Columns Editor [Joy Void; 2018] Rating: 7.5/10 Key Tracks: “Happen”, “Wrong”, “Interstate 95” We’ve come to the point where whenever you hear the term “indie rock”, it can mean anything. With accessibility to music software becoming more and more easier, it seems like there has been an influx of independent artists who…